If you’re not a feline owner, then, congratulations, you have the full privilege of not having scratch marks on your carpets, softwoods, and fabric-covered furnishings.
These cute, little furballs and their demon tools are a real menace to carpets, especially because they can easily sink their claws into them.
However, as terrible as it may sound, cats don’t pull up carpets out of spite. It’s a means of taking care of their claws, marking surfaces, playing around, and even attracting the owner’s attention.
Pertaining how to stop your cat from pulling up carpet, a few techniques like introducing scratching pads and posts, covering previously scratched areas, spraying areas with scent, and most of all trimming their claws are the most effective solution.
It is pertinent that you stop your cat from pulling up your carpets and other household furnishing and direct their attention to a preferable target to ensure the items’ longevity and your cat’s love.
Related: How to Keep Cats From Scratching Carpet
How to Stop Your Cat From Pulling up Carpet
Table of Contents
The first technique to stop your cats from pulling up your carpets by scratching is redirecting their attention to another target that is not your household item, of course, like kitty furniture.
However, some cats are reluctant to use these scratching posts provided mostly because of their attachment to your carpets.
In such cases, the best thing to do is to provide scratching surfaces that your cat will find more intriguing than your furnishings.
Introduce a Horizontal Scratching Pad
Like humans, cats have different personalities and enjoy different things. Some cats enjoy scratching vertically, while some prefer the horizontal method. If your cat scratches your carpets, then it must prefer the horizontal method.
Luckily, there are various horizontal scratching pads on the market that are inexpensive. Most are flattened, but some are wedge-shaped inclines. Experiment to find the one your cat likes.
Provide Various Scratching Posts and Pads
You should add multiple scratching posts and pads with different materials and textures. These different choices may intrigue your cat and remove its attention from your carpets.
Thankfully, most scratching posts and pads come in carpet material, but you can also get ones with materials like sisal, plain wood, and corrugated cardboard. Do not forget to add scratching posts of varying angles as cats prefer such.
So get one or more of a flat scratching mat, an inclined scratcher, a tall, vertical scratching post, or even one that double functions as a bed.
Be sure to put these at various parts of the house as the cat is not likely to seek out the scratching posts and will just resort to its habit of pulling up your carpet.
Provide durable and inexpensive ones so you don’t mind replacing them regularly to ensure cost-effectiveness.
Lastly, ensure these posts are sturdy to prevent movement while doing what they do best. No, not being cute, pulling up your carpet.
Cover the Places Your Cats Have Previously Scratched
If you’ve provided these scratching surfaces and your cat still uses the carpet, then you need to cover these places up. Cats can be deceived into using scratching posts by fixing the parts of the carpet they love to scratch the most.
A good choice for this would be a sisal scratching post. Or you can use furniture to cover up those favorite spots. For instance, if the spot is at the entrance, you can add a mat to cover it.
The other method is more convenient since your cats will have multiple favorite spots. This may not completely stop the habit as there’s no assurance it won’t return to the carpet once these have been removed, however, it’s the least frustrating option because it does save your carpet in the meantime.
Read: What You Should Know About Shag Carpeting
Keep Your Cat’s Anxiety Level in Mind
You should monitor your cat to know if it is emotionally stressed, as that’s one of the reasons for scratching. Cats’ anxiety can rise if they feel threatened as felines are very territorial creatures.
Usually, when a newborn child is just introduced into the family or a new cat even, they become restive. In the case of a new cat, introduce them properly.
Don’t allow the new cat to move around right away; this will bring about territorial feelings from both sides. Introduce them slowly by keeping the new cat in one area of your home apart from the old one.
Then, allow both of them to smell each other by switching out beddings and blankets between them. After that, you can allow the new cat to roam a large part of your home. Sometimes, even environmental changes unsettle them.
You should pay attention to your cats by playing with them often, as this may allow you to consider discarding the habit of scratching the carpets.
Spray or Infuse the Areas With Scent
You could use sprays or a feline pheromone plugin on the areas your cats have scratched or have been scratching.
Cat behaviorists have claimed that these products work well to deceive your cats into thinking the areas have been marked by another feline hence they would avoid such areas. Humans can’t smell this, so you don’t have to worry about not liking the smell.
Trim Your Cat’s Claws
One of the main reasons for a cat pulling up your carpet is claw maintenance. Cat’s claw’s outer layer comes off regularly, so they scratch carpets to speed up the process. Some cats’ claws grow very fast, while some don’t.
Those that don’t do not scratch very often. Those that do will work overtime to keep the claws from overgrowing at the expense of your carpets and furnishings. If your cat is going through scratching posts quickly and scratching every time, you must trim its claws.
A lot of cats don’t enjoy this process, while some do. You should be warned that this process will initially go through with a lot of struggling, howling, and injuries on your part.
You can calm down your cat by showering them with attention and lots of treats. It’s much easier once they are calm and have started enjoying the claw–trimming process.
Prevent the Habit From Forming
Prevention is better than cure. Once you adopt a cat, introduce them to scratching posts and encourage them to use the items.
If they get used to them, they are not likely to turn to your carpet unless in the case of anxiety. It’s hard to get rid of habits, either bad or good.
Kittens have harmless claws, but it’s better to allow them to form good habits before they’re big with strong claws that will pull up your carpet.
Read: Low Or High Pile Carpet, Which Is Better?
Conclusion
We love our furry babies, but we also do not want to lose our carpets in the process; that’s toxic love. All these methods should give you a good relationship with your cat and your money’s worth on your carpet.
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